Fourteen
by Xaphrin
Summary: Tohru hits her head, her memory is altered and she thinks she is the year of the cricket. But when the Sohmas try to bring her back to reality, they realize that there may be some truth in her delusions...


Fourteen_(A Fruits Basket Fan-fiction)_

Tohru hits her head, her memory is altered and she thinks she is the year of the cricket. But when the Sohmas try to bring her back to reality, they realize that there may be some truth in her delusions…

Chapter One: Chirping

Tohru smiled gently as she watched the rain pour down, listening to the soft tap of water on the roof. She knew it would be so refreshing this evening, after the rain had cleared. And perhaps it would be dry enough to eat outside? It had been so long since her small, obscure family had done that. Perhaps the Sohma's would like to dine outside tonight? She made a mental note to ask them later.

Tohru smiled again as she sunk her hands into the dishwater and started cleaning dishes. Her hands deftly moved across the plates as her mind wandered into the past. It had been nearly a year and a half since she had come to live with the Sohma's, and it was strange to think of all the things that had transpired, and all the things she had learned since her first stay. Yuki's brother-complex; Kyo's other form; even Hatori's love of Kanna. All of it was so new and different, but all of it was greatly treasured. Tohru's friendship with everyone in the Sohma family had grown so large and encompassing over the years. She couldn't help but feel that they were her family too.

"Oh, Honda-san."

Tohru gave a start, and dropped a dish into the sink with a splash. She made a disgruntled expression and picked the dish up. A small chuckle from the doorway made her turn into the smiling face of the beautiful young man that had just entered the kitchen. He watched her for a moment, as if he wasn't sure if he should enter her 'domain' of the kitchen.

"Konnichiwa, Yuki-kun," she responded happily. With that familiar smile, the beautiful young man decided to take his first steps into the kitchen, and headed for a cabinet filled with glasses.

"Konnichiwa. I would have thought you'd be out today." Yuki poured himself a glass of water. He paused for a moment and watched as Tohru's eyes looked out at the rainfall. There was a moment of silence as they both enjoyed the peace and tranquility the water provided.

"I thought I might go shopping for dinner." Tohru spoke, finally breaking the peace. Yuki watched her silently. "But, I was worried about the weather being too bad." She finished drying the last of the breakfast dishes, and put them away. She sighed a little, after one last glance out the window. "It's so strange, I love the rain because of its beauty and ability to heal… but at the same time, it upsets me because I can't get any work done." She shook her head slightly and wrung the rag out into the sink.

Yuki loved to listen to Tohru speak, she was so intelligent and insightful sometimes, but utterly naïve and innocent. It was almost as if she were a living paradox. "I understand." Yuki said softly, after contemplating her words for a moment. "I guess I feel the same way. But I've never really thought about it before." There was another peaceful pause. "I can come to the store with you, if you'd like."

"Oh, I'll be all right." She smiled brightly at him. "It isn't that long of a walk, and the rain isn't _so _bad." Tohru's eyes drifted to the ceiling, and she chewed on her lower lip slightly, as if trying to decide what to say next. "Is Kyo-kun doing alright? He didn't eat much breakfast this morning… but then again, that was right before the rain started." She sighed slightly. "I wonder if I should bring him something…"

Yuki shrugged nonchalantly, silently stating that was the last thing on his mind. "I guess he's okay… he's a little lack-luster right now and has taken to sulking in his room, like the stupid cat he is."

"I heard that."

Speak of the devil. Kyo slowly dragged himself into the kitchen wanting desperately to punch Yuki hard, but he didn't even have the gumption to even move his arm. He looked frustrated, exhausted, confused, dazed and was hunched over like some kind of strange beast. Every muscle in his body moved sluggishly, and was more of a burden than help. He stared at Yuki for a long moment before turning to Tohru, wishing he could at least force a smile for her; she deserved it… sometimes.

"Oh! Kyo-kun, are you all right?" Tohru asked, her eyes shining with concern.

Kyo glared at her, not for her kindness, but because she always made such a fuss over him during the rain. It wasn't like he couldn't take care of himself, on second thought… he glanced over at her, eyes wide and innocent. She was always willing to help him, always sticking her neck out for him; making sure he ate properly, slept properly, and did everything he _should_ do. Sometimes… it was nice to have someone who cared for him like she did. "I'm fine. Just… fix me some tea…"

Yuki elbowed him slightly, suddenly wanting to provoke him. On rainy days like this, Kyo received most of Tohru's affections, and it had a tendency to make him feel… a little jealous. "What do you say?" He teased, smiling maliciously at his orange-haired cousin. "I know you've been taught proper manners."

Kyo glared at him with daggers, then looked softly at Tohru who was already pouring water into a kettle, unaware of the fight about to start behind her. He sighed and finished his sentence, not for Yuki, but for Tohru. "…please."

She turned around and smiled brightly at him as she put the kettle on the burner. "Of course! Yuki-kun would you like some tea as well?"

"Yes. Thank you." There was a small moment as Tohru scattered around the kitchen for the things she needed, and both Kyo and Yuki watched her with enduring fondness. She had the ability to be the sweetest girl in the whole world, and they were lucky to know her. Yuki looked over and watched as Kyo stumbled into the great room, wanting to lie down. He plunked himself down on the floor in front of the table, and let his body fall across the table-top. Yuki went to join him.

"If you're here to pass snide comments to me, it won't work," Kyo mumbled as his eyes turned upward to look at his silver-haired nemesis. He _hated_ the rain as it was, but having Yuki see him in his weakest hour made things even worse. It made him angry and self-conscious. Of course, Yuki never said anything to Kyo, but he always knew that Yuki wanted to make some rude comment; it was his sixth sense.

"I'm waiting for my tea, baka neko," Yuki stated indignantly. Kyo just groaned, wishing he had the energy to initiate a match. It frustrated him to no end that he didn't have the energy to fight with Yuki, especially when he knew some day he would win and that day could very well be today. Although tomorrow might be better.

"Here you go!" Tohru continued to smile as she stepped lightly into the room and placed the tea tray down on the table. Yuki smiled up at her and said thank you, while Kyo just groaned and reached for his tea. He wasn't sure why, but this weariness was especially worse on this rainy day; this godforsaken body! He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, willing himself into a sitting position.

Tohru watched him, chewing on her lip silently. "Kyo-kun, is there anything I can do for you? You look awfully ill… would you like some soup? I'm make miso just for you." Her wide eyes watched him carefully, unaware of the blush that spread across his face. All she held for him was honest concern, and it was definitely making Yuki jealous.

"Iie…" Kyo said softly, letting his head fall back on the table to hide the color on his face. When Tohru made a fuss over him, he would _always_ blush and look away or say something stupid, which in turn made _him_ look stupid. It made him so mad that he couldn't ever find the right words to say. He always seemed to say something… angry; even if he wasn't. He looked back up into her concerned eyes for a moment, and quickly turned away, his cheeks flaring red again.

Yuki sat there silently, contemplating his jealous feelings as he watched Kyo carefully. It would now be almost two years since Tohru came to live at the house, and through out all that time Kyo became increasingly docile, at least for him. Every now and then he was almost pleasant to be around. Yuki sighed slightly; he knew that Kyo was starting to have truly strong feelings for Honda-san, and it made him even more jealous. Tohru was sweet, innocent, playful, and… completely lovable. It was odd to admit it to himself, but after all the time he had spent with Tohru and everything that had happened, Yuki wanted to date her _seriously_. And Kyo played no part in that plan whatsoever.

"Honda-san," Yuki spoke between sips of his tea, his body or face never betraying his wandering mind, "What's for dinner tonight?"

"Oh!" She perked up at his question and turned to him. "Whatever you two can agree on. Shigure-san said he'd be gone until tomorrow evening, so it's up to you two to decide." Tohru set her mug down and sighed slightly, looking out at the dark, gray sky. It would not be as pleasant a walk as she had hoped.

In the following silence, Kyo glanced up and glared at the beautiful male sitting across from him. He didn't want to agree on anything with that _blasted_ rat; and Yuki felt the same way towards the baka neko. There was a strange hum of electricity that rang through the air as they stared each other down.

"If you two _can_ agree, that is…" Tohru added softly, feeling rather helpless as she watched the two young men glare at each over. No matter how hard she tried, or what she did, she just _couldn't_ get them to agree on anything, or even say one nice thing to each other. After all the time she spent, she was beginning to feel it was rather hopeless. Although, Shigure swore up and down that this was heaven compared to what it used to be like. Tohru still had trouble believing him.

Yuki glared at Kyo for a long moment, trying to decide if it was possible for him to hit Kyo without starting a fight. He decided against it, and instead stood up and picked up the discarded tea dishes.

"That's nice of you, Yuki-kun, but I can take care of it." Tohru jumped up and offered to take the tray from him, but he simply smiled.

"I don't think we do enough around the house. It's not very fair that you have to do all the work all the time." He smiled softly at her. "I'm more then happy to do my fair share." Yuki's dark eyes shined slightly and he gathered the last of the dishes.

Kyo's head quickly snapped up and he glared at the boy incredulously as a heaviness filled the air. Why was he suddenly so interested in making sure he did his 'fair share' of housework? Yuki sucked at cooking _and _cleaning, and everyone knew it. There had to be some personal agenda that Yuki had. If Kyo could have moved, he would have decked that damned nezumi right then and there.

"Really, Yuki-kun," Tohru said, reaching forward and taking the tray from him. "I'm more than happy to do it! Besides, it's my way of paying for my rent. Remember?" She smiled at him and walked back into the kitchen, humming softly. Yuki was about to follow her when Kyo spoke suddenly, jerking the rat from his thoughts.

"Why do you have a sudden burning desire to do housework?" He hissed at his suspicious looking cousin, feeling his muscles tense at all the possibilities. It wasn't fair that Yuki got to do whatever he wanted because he wanted it. And it wasn't fair that he was trying to make moves while Kyo was under the weather and not at peak performance.

Yuki glared at the cat, his male grace shining subtly powerful. There was a long moment of tension before he spoke. "I don't. And if I did, I wouldn't tell _you._"

Kyo glared at him some more, before letting his head fall back onto the table. "I want to hit you so bad! If I could move you'd be flat on your back right now." He let out a low growl before he sighed.

"I'd like to hit you as well, but I won't hit a lady in distress," Yuki said, a malevolent smile spreading smoothly across his beautiful face.

"Damnit!" Kyo managed enough energy to rise to his feet and raise an arm to poit at him. "You're so DEAD, nezumi! I'm not taking this anymore." He tried to rush forward, but he ended up being far to slow. Yuki rolled his eyes slightly and turned around and walked away as Kyo tried to chase after him. "Come back here…"

"Kyo-kun!" Tohru said softly as she opened the door. "Are you alright? What happened?" He turned and looked at her, feeling a blush creep across his cheeks. He just _hated_ it when Tohru saw him in such a demeaning manner. He turned and hid his face.

"Forget it…" Kyo sighed, deciding he was never going to win against that damned rat today. Not like this. "I'm going to my room and I'm going to sleep until tomorrow…"

"Be careful, Kyo-kun! Watch-out!" Tohru jumped forward as she watched him trip over the laundry basket she had accidentally left on the floor.

Panic then ensued.

Tohru tripped over Kyo's foot as she went to stop him from running into the laundry basket. That, in turn, caught him off balance and made him run into her. Yuki ran forward to catch Tohru, but ended up turning into a mouse as soon as his arms went around her. Kyo was still falling towards Tohru and his weight ended up on top of her, pushing her upper body through the door to the kitchen, breaking the wood and tearing the paper. As soon as they had both landed, Kyo had turned into his cat form and Tohru was unconscious.

- - -

_So this is my first _Fruits Basket _story. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, it's always nice to leave a review.__ If you hate it, well, that's okay too. If you like my writing style you're always more than welcome to check out any of my other stories. That makes me happy to._

_I'm easy to please._

_Love: __Xaph_


End file.
